Jepson Leadership Forum History

2022-23

The 2022-23 Jepson Leadership Forum focuses on past and present failures in leadership and followership by shining a spotlight on times where we could – and should – have done better.

We invite scholars, experts, and activists to reflect on what went wrong in the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, climate change, the U.S. COVID-19 response, historical memory and racism, and higher education crises—and how to do better going forward.

Sept. 14, 2022
Clint Smith, Staff writer at The Atlantic and author of New York Times best-selling book "How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America"
Historical Memory and Racism
Take 5 video.         

Oct. 24, 2022
Alice Dreger, Journalist, historian, and author of "Galileo’s Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science," a New York Times Book Review editors’ choice
Free Speech and Open Inquiry in Higher Education
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

Nov. 30, 2022
Congressman Seth Moulton, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., former Marine Corps captain     
U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Presentation video. 

Jan. 19, 2023 
Rhiana Gunn-Wright, Director of Climate Policy, Roosevelt Institute
Climate Change
Presentation video.   

Feb. 15, 2023 
Alex Tabarrok, Bartley J. Madden Chair in Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and professor of economics at George Mason University
U.S. COVID-19 Response
Presentation video.  

2021-22

The 2021-22 Jepson Leadership Forum invites scholars, activists, and experts to discuss the moral, ethical, and legal implications of global migration and asylum. Join us as we explore how leaders and communities navigate the economic, social, and cultural transformations of a world with – and without – borders and walls.

Sept. 13, 2021
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, Perry World House Professor of Practice of Law and Human Rights, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, former Jordanian Ambassador to the United States
The Promise of Global Human Rights
Presentation video.

Oct. 19, 2021
Bryan Caplan, Professor of Economics at George Mason University and New York Times best-selling author
The Science and Ethics of Immigration
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

Jan. 27, 2022
S. James Anaya, University Distinguished Professor and Nicholas Doman Professor of International Law, University of Colorado, Boulder
What International Law Has to Say About Indigenous Peoples: Does it Matter?
Presentation video.  

March 15, 2022
Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times best-selling author, Senior Fellow, Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, and staff writer at The Atlantic
Autocracy and Democracy in an Era of Nationalism
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

March 24, 2022 
Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Professor of Philosophy, Yale University
Human Dignity, Democracy, and Borders: What We Owe Refugees
Presentation video. 

2019-20

The 2019-20 Jepson Leadership Forum examines the benefits, pitfalls, and challenges facing the next generation as it navigates an online world with global influence on politics, economics, and society. Experts in the fields of technology, journalism, politics, and education will share their thoughts on how an increasingly powerful digital space affects both leadership and followership.

Sept. 17, 2019
Katie Hafner, Journalist, frequent contributor to The New York Times, and author
The Origins of the Internet
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

Oct. 7, 2019
Derek Thompson, Staff writer at The Atlantic, founder and host of the podcast "Crazy/Genius," and news analyst at National Public Radio
Economics and Influence in Digital Spaces
Take 5 video.

Nov. 19, 2019
Yasha Levine, Russian-American investigative journalist and author
The Internet as a Weapon
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

Feb. 13, 2020
Virginia Eubanks, Associate professor of political science at the University at Albany - State University of New York
Algorithms, Austerity, and Inequality
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

March 25, 2020
André Brock, Associate professor, School of Literature, Media, and Communication at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Racial Representation in Technoculture
*This presentation was postponed due to the global pandemic.

*With special thanks to media sponsor STYLE Weekly, Richmond’s alternative for news, arts, culture, and opinion.

2018-19

Does Democracy Work? Or are we setting ourselves up for failure? The 2018-19 Jepson Leadership Forum hosts politicians, political advisors, and experts on poverty, elections, and technology for a case study of American democracy. We’ll explore the good, bad, and ugly of U.S. politics and government as we ask the question "Does democracy actually work?"

Oct. 25, 2018
Peter Edelman, Professor of Constitutional Law and Poverty Law at Georgetown University
How Democracy is Failing America’s Poor
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

Nov. 28, 2018
Levar Stoney, Mayor of the City of Richmond
The Reality of Voter Disenfranchisement
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

Dec. 4, 2018
Blanche Wiesen Cook, Distinguished Professor of History and Women’s Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York
Toward an Inclusive Democracy: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Legacy
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

Jan. 22, 2019
Zeynep Tufekci, Contributing Opinion Writer to The New York Times and UNC-Chapel Hill Associate Professor
Democracy in the Age of Twitter, Facebook & YouTube
Take 5 video.

March 5, 2019
Larry Bartels, May Werthan Shayne Chair of Public Policy and Social Science at Vanderbilt University
Democracy for Realists
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

April 10, 2020
Melody Barnes, Former Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council; Principal and Co-Founder of MB2 Solutions LLC, a domestic policy strategy and impact development firm
Can We Make Our Democracy Work?
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

*With special thanks to media sponsor STYLE Weekly, Richmond’s alternative for news, arts, culture, and opinion.

2017-18

Since 1992, the Univeristy of Richmond Jepson School of Leadership Studies has explored how visionary leaders bring people together and drive change. The 25th anniversary Jepson Leadership Forum invites you to explore your own vision. Join us as we confront some of the most critical and divisive issues facing our world today -- from wealth and social inequality to terrorism -- and learn to analyze your information, express your opinions, and even change your mind.

Sept. 18, 2017
Roland G. Fryer Jr., Henry Lee Professor of Economics and Faculty Director, EDLabs at Harvard University
Using Economics to Solve Racial Inequality
Take 5 video.

Oct. 19, 2018
Rukmini Callimachi, Award-winning foreigh correspondent for The New York Times
Talking to Terrorists
Presentation video.

Nov. 16, 2017
Dennis Whittle, Co-founder of Feedback Labs and GlobalGiving, the world’s first crodfunding and crowdsourcing website
Listening as Leadership
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

Jan. 29, 2018
Robert D. Putnam, Harvard University professor and adviser to world leaders
Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis
Take 5 video.

Feb. 21, 2018
Jessica Valenti, Bestselling author and Guardian US columnist
Why Feminism (Still) Matters
Take 5 video.

*With special thanks to media sponsor STYLE Weekly, Richmond’s alternative for news, arts, culture, and opinion.

2016-17

The 2016-17 Jepson Leadership Forum traces America’s long struggle for racial justice through slavery and civil war, Reconstruction and Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement and present day. Journey with us as we return to the setbacks and advances, successes and failures that shaped modern America.

Sept. 15, 2016
Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University historian and law professor whose research, among other things, explores the life of America’s third president
Thomas Jefferson’s Intellectual and Ethical Understanding of Slavery
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

Oct. 19, 2016
Ira Berlin, Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland with an expertise in southern and African-American history
Slavery in North America Across Time and Place
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

Nov. 15, 2016
Eric Foner, Columbia University professor regarded as the leading authority on the Reconstruction Era in the United States
Reconstruction
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

Jan. 24, 2017
Isabel Wilkerson, Journalist and bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration
The Story of the Great Migration
Take 5 video.

Feb. 15, 2017
Jamelle Bouie, Chief political correspondent for Slate and CBS News political analyst
Twentieth Century Racial Discrimination and its Long-term Implications
Take 5 video.

March 21, 2017
Thomas F. Jackson, Historian at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and American Civil Rights Movement scholar
Embattled Leader, Contested Icon
Presentation video. Take 5 video.

*With special thanks to media sponsor STYLE Weekly, Richmond’s alternative for news, arts, culture, and opinion.

2015-16

The 2015-16 Jepson Leadership Forum takes on the big questions about human health and well-being: the challenges of global health and poverty, genetics and individual decision making, and the media’s role in public health. We invite you to imagine what’s possible and learn how to think more sharply, live more fully, and do more good. 

Sept. 22, 2015
Maria Konnikova, Psychologist, bestselling author, and contributing writer for The New Yorker online
How to Make Smarter Choices
A conversation with Maria Konnikova. 

Oct. 29, 2015
Daniel Lieberman, Paleoanthropologist at Harvard University, whose research focuses on the look and function of the human body
Is Exercise the Best Medicine?
Presentation video. A conversation with Daniel Lieberman. 

Nov. 12, 2015
Peter Singer, Princeton University professor who has been called the world’s most influential living philosopher
How To Do the Most Good
Presentation video. A conversation with Peter Singer. 

Jan. 28, 2016
James Hamblin, Writer and senior editor at The Atlantic and host of the video series If Our Bodies Could Talk
Scientific Storytelling: Deconstructing the Media’s Critical Role in Public Health
A conversation with James Hamblin. 

Feb. 24, 2017
Nina Munk, Vanity Fair contributing editor and author of The Idealist: Jeffrey Sachs and the Quest to End Poverty
The Perils of Good Intentions

April 7, 2017
Wendy Chung, Clinical and molecular geneticist at Columbia University who studies genetic forms of autism
Is the Future of Medicine in our DNA?
Presentation video. A conversation with Wendy Chung. 

*With special thanks to media sponsor STYLE Weekly, Richmond’s alternative for news, arts, culture, and opinion. 

2014-15

Humans are capable of living together harmoniously, but inevitably comfortable collaborations give way to conflict when we find the actions or ideas of others unacceptable. The 2014-15 Jepson Leadership Forum goes into the fray and examines conflict across contexts, seeking fresh perspectives on the fights, battles, disputes, confrontations, and arguments that arise between warring nations, among factions within society and organizations, and between those seeking positive social change—even within ourselves. 

Sept. 30, 2014
Robert Thurman, Buddist scholar
Conflict Between and Within: A Buddhist Perspective
A conversation with Robert Thurman.

Oct. 21, 2014
Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert (USMC)
Guantánamo: When Command and the Constitution Collide
Presentation video. A conversation with Maj. Gen. Lehnert.

Nov. 13, 2014
Robert J. Norrell, Award-winning historian
Souls of Black Leaders: The Rival Strategies of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois
Presentation video. A conversation with Robert J. Norrell

Jan. 26, 2015
Polly Wiessner, Anthropologist
Adapting to a Changing World
Presentation video. A conversation with Polly Wiessner.

March 18, 2015
Dar Williams, Singer-songwriter
Music Movements in Capitalistic Democracy
Presentation video. A conversation with Dar Williams. 

*With special thanks to media sponsor STYLE Weekly, Richmond’s alternative for news, arts, culture, and opinion. 

2013-14

Leadership isn’t confined to the political realm or the executive suite. Sometimes is happens in a recording studio, on stage, or behind the lens of a camera. The 2013-14 Jepson Leadership Forum explores how we influence culture and how culture influences us. It introduces audiences to visionary artists—leaders in their own right—and distinguished scholars who understand the power of culture to make us question our perceptions, shape society, and ultimately lead us in new directions. Even shock us. 

Sept. 24, 2013
Peter Guralnick, Biographer and music historian 
Moving to a Different Beat: How a record producer changed music, shaped culture, and gave birth to rock ’n’ roll
A conversation with Peter Guralnick.

Oct. 23, 2013
Giles Gunn, Cultural critic
Bridging the Gap: Cultural differences in a globalized world 
Presentation video. A conversation with Giles Gunn.

Nov. 6, 2013
Emily Nussbaum, Television critic and author
From I Love Lucy to Breaking Bad: How ambitious modern television rebelled against formula by exploding it

Feb. 24, 2014
Moisés Kaufman, Tony- and Emmy-nominated director, founder and artistic director of Tectonic Theater Project
Toward a New Theater: A conversation with The Laramie Project’s Moisés Kaufman
Presentation video. A conversation with Moisés Kaufman.

March 26, 2014
Janet Jarman, Award-winning photographer and multimedia storyteller
Framing the Conversation: Immigration and other contemporary social issues
Presentation video. 

April 11, 2014
Abigail Washburn, Folk musician
Special Musical Performance
Performance video. 

*With special thanks to media sponsor STYLE Weekly, Richmond’s alternative for news, arts, culture, and opinion. 

2012-13

The University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies is a groundbreaking experiment in higher education. It opened in 1992 as the nation’s first school of leadership studies and is still leading the way. We’re celebrating 20 years by bringing you distinguished speakers, many of whom are groundbreakers in their own right, to discuss the people, ideas, and innovations that changed the world. 

Sept. 19, 2012
TIME magazine columnist Joe Klein offers a provocative look at the world’s leaders. The once-anonymous author of Primary Colors knows bold. 
A conversation with Joe Klein.

Nov. 14, 2012
Strategic adviser to Fortune 500 companies, Frans Johansson, discusses groundbreaking innovation and lets you in on the secret of harnessing great ideas. 

Jan. 23, 2013
Curt Tofteland, creator of the Shakespeare Behind Bars program, is breaking barriers with the nation’s first program that uses Shakespeare to build community with the incarcerated. All the world’s a stage. 

Feb. 27, 2013
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and noted nuclear historian Richard Rhodes discusses Hedy’s Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World. 

April 15, 2013
The former president of Duke University and the first woman president of both a woman’s college and a major research university, political theorist Nan Keohane shares insights about leadership out front and discusses the behind-the-scenes leadership of social and political movements around the globe. 

*With special thanks to media sponsor STYLE Weekly, Richmond’s alternative for news, arts, culture, and opinion. 

2011-12

The issues many women face in the 21st century are complex and diverse. Bias in the workplace. Work-life balance. Gender-based violence. Inadequate health care. The Jepson Leadership Forum’s 2011-12 season explores these and other critical issues as well as the ways in which women are courageously stepping up to the plate to lead change, combat stereotypes, fight oppression, and alter our perceptions of culture, race, global challenges—even ourselve. In short, the ways women are working to lead and change the world. Sports, work, politics, and poverty—all topics are fair game. 

Sept. 22, 2011
CHANGING THE GAME: Reflections On Life On and Off the Court
C. Vivian Stringer—Women’s college basketball coach, best-selling author
Basketball Hall of Fame inductee C. Vivian Stringer reflects on overcoming personal and professional challenges, mentoring young women, and leading three different teams to the NCAA Final Four. Cosponsored by University of Richmond Athletics. 
A conversation with C. Vivian Stringer.

Nov. 9, 2011
CHANGING THE WORLD: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
Sheryl WuDunn—Author, Pulitzer Prize winner
Pulitzer Prize winner Sheryl WuDunn, co-author of "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide," describes the issues facing women around the world and how empowering women can aid in the fight against global poverty.
Cosponsored by One Book, One Campus. 
Presentation video. A conversation with Sheryl WuDunn.

Jan. 24, 2012
CHANGING PERSPECTIVES: Rethinking Dr. King’s Legacy Through the Lens of Ella Baker
Barbara Ransby—Activist and historian
Historian and longtime political activist Barbara Ransby discusses her award-winning biograpy of civil rights activist Ella Baker. Ransby’s lecture is through the James MacGregor Burns Lecture in Leadership Studies and Biography.
Cosponsored by the Department of History
Presentation video. A conversation with Barbara Ransby.

Feb. 9, 2012
CHANGING MINDSETS: Wise Women Speak: Powerful Career Tips from Powerful Career Women
Joan Williams—Advocate for gender equality
Called "something of a rock star" in her field by The New York Times Magazine, gender and work-family issues expert Joan Williams shares the four basic patterns of gender bias and proven strategies successful women have used to combat bias. 
Cosponsored by the University of Richmond School of Law.
Presentation video. A conversation with Joan Williams. 

Feb. 23, 2012
CHANGING RHETORIC: What the Words of Presidents (and Presidential Candidates) Reveal About Them and About Us
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell and Kathleen Hall Jamieson—Critics of political discourse
Award-winning communication scholars Karlyn Kohrs Campbell and Kathleen Hall Jamieson discuss what presidential rhetoric and campaign communication can teach us about our changing electorate. 
Sponsored by the Department of Rhetoric & Communication Studies. Cosponsored by the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, Gottwald Speaker Board, Center for Civic Engagement, WGSS, WILL, and the Department of Political Science. 
Presentation video.